This is terrible news both for Ji Sung and for the production of Kill Me Heal Me, but there is one amusing angle that I’ll get into later after tackling the serious side first. With KMHM headed into the final week of its broadcast with two episodes remaining, the initially beleaguered production appeared to have overcome huge odds to become a relative critical and popular success with no major hiccups.

I should have waited before throwing in the congratulatory towel because news broke over the weekend that leading man Ji Sung abruptly came down with a vocal cord inflammation so serious he lost his voice. The man literally cannot speak a word. Oh boy, what’s going to happen with he is in most scenes of this drama and there are still two episodes left to film? His wifey Lee Bo Young is so not going to be happy after sending food to the production and telling them to use her hubby and return him nicely afterwards.

Ji Sung was rushed to the hospital emergency room after he realized that he couldn’t speak at all while he was about to do a scene on set. The doctor diagnosed him with severe vocal cord inflammation, likely caused by exhaustion and the heavy workload he’s been shouldering while playing 7 different personalities in the drama. He was told to rest immediately for an extended period of time, but Ji Sung elected to go back to the set to power through the filming. The PD explained that all the non-Ji Sung scenes will be shot first until he regains some of his voice back and then his scenes will be filmed. No word on what the production will do if he doesn’t get some of it back, or whether his scenes will be revised to limit his dialogues as much as possible.

The grueling K-drama live shoot has caused countless on-set catastrophes from car accidents rushing to scenes to falling off horses to working with broken bones, so Ji Sung losing his voice is totally not a shocking development. I do feel terrible for him but his hard work on this drama is definitely acknowledged, appreciated, and rewarded, so that might be a sliver of solace. The funny aspect of him losing his voice stems from the irony that it’s him, as opposed to his leading lady Hwang Jung Eum who screamed so damn much in the first four episodes of the drama I seriously thought she would lose her voice at any moment. Her screaming had to have turned off tons of viewers and I barely stuck with KMHM until that early phase passed and she calmed down to start acting vaguely sensible. Fervent wishes to Ji Sung for a speedy and full recovery!

Comments

Oh no! I heard rumours but didnt think it was true. Ottoke! I love hearing ji sung’s voice. I hope he gets his voice back soon but at the same time I want him to rest. Man, hope it turns out well for everyone.

poor Oppa! working extremely hard and I saw an article too he said that “it pains me more if I’m not acting “!!!

that is what you call dedication!!! 🙂

get better Oppa! I am very sad that KMHM is ending but with all the fun/awesome memories it’s given me then Oppa deserves plenty of rest with wife LBY! I’m sure she will get him back to 110% in no time!!!

1 ) bring in mr x. He has a surgical mask and doesn’t speak.
2) go full blown comedy and acknowledge the loss of his voice and write around it. Give him a computer to speak for him like Stephen hawking.
3) have his secretary/dr be his voice and translate for him.

That is my sediments exactly! Mr. X doesn’t talk they can do that Buffy episode where everyone loses their voice and I love option 2 and 3 too, they can just write it into the story. I am also shocked HJE didn’t lose her voice lol she was screaming from ep 1-4

Think about the fact that not only is he using his voice for 5 different characters, there isn’t a “resting” spot, so to speak anywhere. He has to touch the whole range – from growling SSG to high-pitched Yo-na crying “OP – PAH! across the room to RO.

I really hope he gets his voice back soon and that he’s holding up alright for now. Jisung seems like quite the dedicated actor so I’ve no doubts whatsoever that the final two episodes are going to turn out amazingly. I just hope that it doesn’t come at too great an expense for him.

I may not understand in K-drama industry, but can anyone please explain why K-dramas often do live-shoot ? Why don’t they completely finished shooting before airing or at least half-finished shooting before airing? Is it a result from poor time management or there are limited production companies available for shooting during certain timeframe?

I don’t know about the regulations exactly, but maybe it has something to do with people’s reaction and ratings. The most recent example is Blood. Let’s say it’s pre-produced. However bad the rating and people reaction are, they can’t do anything and it will continue to flop throughout its run. They wouldn’t have a chance to fix anything. But with live-shoot system, they can take account on people’s critics to make the show better.
I still prefer pre-produced drama though. To avoid flops, they have to make a good script and cast good actors to begin with, so th overal quality of korean dramas will be better.

One, is just like kar comments below, the fact that live-shooting allows for script adjustments on the fly based on viewer reception.

Another is that the time between releasing details of actors/actresses contracted on and details of the drama being released to actual airing is MUCH shorter, than would be required if it was sent to full post-production before airing. These days, time between news of a new drama and actual airing is months rather than half a year to a year.

No matter what happens with the script, I know they will do it justice. And the long time fans and new fans will understand and support and still love the drama. 🙂 🙂 By this time, it should be almost done filming anyways right? So it may not be so bad (not the inflammation, but the effect on the episodes).

wtf. I hope that doesn’t ruin how good this drama has been! That would be such a huge huge huge huge huge pity!!!!!!
But regardless, please get well soon Ji Sung! Better rest well and keep the talking to a minimum!
Hopefully he recovers before his scenes need to be shot! This drama deserves a perfect wrap up, and Ji Sung’s hard work throughout this whole drama deserves it too! Need a perfect ending note to leave a good impression on the audience and his emerging fans 😉

Wish speedy recovery to Ji Sung as well and hope the scriptwriter will find a way to accomodate his lost voice.

Actually I’m a bit baffled when JS comes back to the set against doctor’s order and everyone congratulate him and appreciate him for his hard work and dedication. That man needs rest! Give him a damn rest for a day or two! But yeah, live-shooting is the biggest problem!

I hope he gets well soon. I’m a teacher and know how painful and frustrating it is to try to talk during your job when you have no voice. Unfortunately, what really brings it back is extended rest and not using your voice as much as possible. Ji Sung is such a terrific actor and I really wish him a speedy recovery.

Hoping he can get well soon. He has done a wonderful job, all of the people involved in this drama did. But he had maximum amount of screen time and a diverse role, so it was clearly tough act. Btw, I may be of the club who were not so horrified by Hwang Jung Eum’s screams, I mean she was so quiet and said sorry so many times in Secret drama, for me watching the first couple of episodes of KMHM was like seeing Ji Sung and Hwang Jung Eum do a role reversal. LOL, I kind of like Ri-Jin’s screams and dance moves. I will miss this show and here is me hoping we get to see HJE and JS in another show and drama in the future. Love these two.

Actually Oh Ri Jin’s hilarious soliloquy towards the end of Episode 1 is what elicited my first laugh in this drama and made me want to continue watching. Before that, when Cha Do Hyun was dunked head first into a tub of water for not recognizing Segi’s woman, i merely smiled. Those are the only two scenes that appealed to me in the first episode.

It’s a good thing i can appreciate the directorial style of making Rijin’s character the highstrung one, as opposed to Dohyun’s gentleness – the psychiatrist who is seemingly more “mental” than her patient (outside of the alters of course). KMHM is such an entertaining drama for me. One of the few that i instinctively know i will enjoy up until the end.

I watched the last two episodes and indeed his voice sounded so strained… Poor Ji Sung. But he is dedicated to his job and gave a brilliant performance to be remembered for all time. Truly, one of Korea’s finest actors.